Why did you decide to study abroad with IES?
Jill: IES has a great reputation and the staff in Chicago is so accessible. They ensured I had all the information I needed before I left. We talked about money, housing, healthcare, and classes until I was worry-free and my parents were worry-free (which is a feat!). I had a great correspondence with past students who reached out to me to answer any of my questions from their experience. Their website also includes blogs (and vlogs) from current students that got me excited about my trip.
What made this study abroad experience unique and special?
Jill: The program is unique because, not only are you going to meet people from all over the world, you also meet students from all over America through the program. I made friends from all over. We also lived near Spitalfields Market in an area that a lot of my friends on other programs missed out on.
British professors taught all our classes and they took us on field trips and made us think with a global perspective. For one course, I did a group project on Notting Hill as it’s represented in film. We used examples like the Hugh Grant movie and delved into the history of the area. By the time we finished, we’d learned about the multi-cultural and controversial background of the area that led to it becoming an expensive and chic tourist destination. The city was our classroom in many ways.
Describe your favorite must-have food that you tried abroad.
Jill: An English Breakfast is a delight. It includes eggs, toast, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sausage (or in my case veggie sausage). They're served all over and at a reasonable price. There's nothing more satisfying than a Sunday morning brunch. The dorm we stayed in called Nido Spitalfields was right down the street from The Breakfast Club, which served a mean breakfast and some great smoothies too.
London was surprisingly vegetarian friendly. Most of the fast food places and restaurants had options. I highly recommend vegetarian fish and chips. It's got nothing to do with fish. It's really battered haloumi, but boy is it delicious. I can and will talk about vegetarian fish and chips all day.
What was the best place you visited outside of your study abroad city?
Jill: IES planned an entire trip to Scotland that was fantastic. We flew into Inverness and made stops along the way to Edinburgh. It was a jam-packed long weekend. We fed reindeer in the snowy mountains, hiked in sunny valleys, cruised across Loch Ness, listened to traditional music in cozy country pubs, and bar hopped across one of the most beautiful cities I've ever experienced. I could have never covered that much ground on a trip on my own. It's nice to relinquish travel responsibility. Most of the students on the program attended and we got a full Scottish experience.